FAQs

Why “Security” to “Systems”?

In September 2018 we changed our name from the Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Security Lab to the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab. We retained our acronym (J-WAFS). The motivation behind the change is that we believe the term “systems” better represents the range and complexity of challenges we address in achieving our goal: to secure humankind’s vital resources — water and food.

Approaching large-scale, urgent water and food challenges necessitates a broad, multidisciplinary perspective. We are at an all-hands-on-deck moment in human history, and we need to apply all manner of approaches in order to find solutions that can have global impact, while being regionally relevant. This is why J-WAFS works to advance knowledge and innovation by mobilizing research and collaboration across disciplines at MIT. The critical need to build and manage resilient, sustainable systems that deliver safe and adequate supplies of water and food across our changing world is driving research-based solutions that address and incorporate policy, business, human behavior, technology development, science, and engineering perspectives, and more.

For more information, read the September announcement about our name change.